What you should know about Delaney Hall, the place where Newark’s mayor was arrested

Delaney Hall, an immigrant detention facility in Newark, has drawn controversy since President Donald Trump’s administration announced a billion-dollar deal with a private prison company in February to reopen the complex, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s effort to expand its detention capacity in the Northeast.

Immigrant rights activists oppose the transformation of the former Newark prison into an immigrant detention center, saying it violates state laws and represents an affront to the deeply immigrant community.

The tension over Delaney Hall erupted Friday when Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested and charged with trespassing after he tried to visit the facility. He tried to inspect the property alongside a Democratic congressional delegation. U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin accused Democratic leaders during a CNN interview Saturday of assaulting federal law enforcement.

Here’s what to know about Delaney Hall and the controversy surrounding it.

What is Delaney Hall?

Delaney Hall is a 1,000-bed immigrant detention facility in Newark that is owned and operated by private prison company GEO Group.

It first opened in 2000 to house federal, state and county detainees, according to court documents. From 2011 though 2017, ICE housed up to 450 immigrants from across the country there.

In late February, GEO Group said that ICE had awarded it a 15-year, $1 billion contract to reopen the facility and provide support services for the establishment of a federal immigration processing center. Such services include, “security, maintenance, and food services, as well as access to recreational amenities, medical care, and legal counsel,” according to the news release.

It is one of two privately owned and operated immigrant detention facilities in New Jersey. GEO confirmed that the detention center began receiving detainees on May 1.

Why are advocates upset?

Delaney Hall represents everything community activists and immigrant rights advocates in New Jersey have been fighting against in recent years. As far back as 2018, state leaders have sought to legally wall off public jails and local law enforcement from any engagement with federal immigration enforcement. In 2021, advocates helped enact a law prohibiting New Jersey from renewing or signing detention contracts with ICE in the state.

A federal district judge struck down parts of the ban in 2023 after private prison operators, such as CoreCivic, which operates another immigration detention center in the state, sued. The state attorney general is appealing the ruling, invoking the 10th Amendment that stops the federal government from commandeering state resources for its purposes.

Community and elected leaders have accused ICE and GEO Group of abuse and neglect of detainees. They accused the company of maintaining terrible conditions that verged on the inhumane, according to critics opposing the facility’s reopening. Charlene Walker, of the multiracial interfaith group Faith in New Jersey, said there is no evidence the owners have adequately fixed the dilapidated building sitting in the center of an area known as “chemical corridor” for its environmental pollution.

“We don’t want to see this here,” she said, adding that members have been holding daily prayer vigils outside the prison. “This is against New Jersey values.”

In a statement to The Washington Post, GEO Group said it is proud of the long-standing role the company has played to support ICE’s “law enforcement mission.”

“Over the last four decades, our innovative support service solutions have helped the federal government implement the policies of seven different Presidential Administrations,” the statement said. “In all instances, our support services are monitored by ICE and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure strict compliance with ICE detention standards”

The facility’s proximity to airports has alarmed advocates who fear the state could become the “epicenter” of Trump’s mass deportation dragnet, said Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

“Delaney Hall is the biggest detention center on the East Coast,” Sinha said. “And we won’t stand for it.”

What has the city done?

Newark sued the private prison company in late March in New Jersey Superior Court, alleging that the facility lacked a valid certificate of occupancy.

GEO Group has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the lawsuit as “politically motivated,” The Post previously reported. GEO Group argues that because it was contracted to provide support services, ICE has “exclusive control” over all access to secure portions of the facility.

The case was transferred to federal court in April, where a judge is weighing Newark’s request to require GEO Group to allow city officials to inspect the complex and block the opening of the facility “pending inspection and compliance with local, State, and administrative codes,” according to the complaint.

Baraka’s arrest and the melee

Baraka, who is running for New Jersey governor, has repeatedly sought to block the opening of Delaney Hall.

At a rally in March, Baraka told a crowd of about 300 immigrant rights activists that he would padlock the building if necessary to prevent it from opening, according to local reports.

On Friday, Baraka and three Democratic members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation — Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez Jr. and LaMonica McIver — attempted to inspect the facility during an unannounced visit.

Chaos erupted, and Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing.

Interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, a longtime Trump ally, accused Baraka of ignoring “multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself.”

A city spokesperson disputed the Trump administration’s characterization of the events that led to Baraka’s arrest.

“He left when they asked him to leave,” the spokesperson said,speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing court case against Baraka. “It wasn’t like he went barging in and was trying to get himself arrested.”

Organizer Viri Martinez, of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said activists and others present recorded the conflagration. After going inside the gate that surrounds Delaney Hall and failing to gain entrance to the building, Baraka left the facility grounds, she said.

Video obtained by The Post showed that while he was outside Delaney Hall’s gate, DHS officials attempted to arrest the mayor. In the scuffle that ensued, DHS alleged that Democratic leaders assaulted federal agents, citing video posted Saturday to the agency’s X account. Activists who were demonstrating outside and witnessed the fracas said it was federal agents who escalated the situation, throwing at least one protester to the ground.

“If they are doing this and assaulting congresspeople in front of cameras and in front of the community, imagine what DHS is doing to violate the rights of immigrants out of sight,” Martinez said.

Baraka’s first court appearance has been set for May 15, according to court documents.